


The Knights of Walpurgis

by ObliviateMeQuietly



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Muggle, F/M, Gangs, Inspired By Peaky Blinders, Muggle AU, tomione - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:46:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27792502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObliviateMeQuietly/pseuds/ObliviateMeQuietly
Summary: Hermione then turned to the bartender, pointing the flame at him threateningly. “I have ears everywhere. If I hear of this happening again, to any people of my persuasion, I’ll light this pub on fire. Creating flames is a special skill of mine.” She flipped the lighter closed and slipped it into her bag, before turning on her heel and marching out of the pub. “You’ll throw any men out of the bar if they insult any people of colour,” Tom reiterated, taking a drag from his cigarette. “If you’re a good man, and follow my orders, we’ll offer you protection from anyone who might steal from you. At a discounted rate, of course. The choice is yours. My Knights and I will see you again.”
Relationships: Andromeda Black Tonks/Ted Tonks, Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Tom Riddle
Kudos: 53





	The Knights of Walpurgis

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! Welcome to my new Peaky Blinders inspired fic! I was too excited to get this out here for you to see :D Enjoy!

_December 31 st 1899_

The first time Andromeda Tonks held Thomas Riddle Jr. in her arms, she swore that she would love him as her own and protect him until her last breath.

"Who is his father?" She had asked the panting woman, as she sat between her legs, helping her bring her child into the world.

"He doesn't want us, please don't send for him." the woman begged between pants, desperation clear in her voice.

"He might change his mind when he sees the child. He helped bring this child into the world, it's his responsibility."

“The only responsibility he believes in is maintaining his image,”

“Push, dear. Your child will be here soon.”

"He told me he loved me, that he wanted to marry me," she was sobbing now. "I love him so much. When I told him I was pregnant, he said that I'd put a gypsy curse on him, and he'd broken free of it. He told me that he didn't love me, and he didn't want to raise gypsy scum."

"You need to push _now_ , Merope." Andromeda ordered.

The woman groaned as she pushed, and it was only a little while later that a snivelling child with a mop of hair as dark as night came into the world.

Merope began to cry as she held the child on her chest, caressing his dark hair, in contrast to her own dirty blonde locks. "Please don’t send for his father. He'd rather have him killed than raise him. I’d rather die than go back there. Please, miss. I beg of you."

“What about your own family? Which clan do you belong to?”

“I am a Gaunt,” She admitted, bringing the snivelling child to her breast. “But please, don’t send for them either. I never want to go back there. My boy deserves better than that.”

Once the afterbirth had been delt with and they were both clean and dry, Andromeda tucked the strange woman into their spare bed for the night.

"What will you name him?" Andromeda asked.

"Thomas Riddle, after his father." Merope caressed the boy’s downy cheek as he sniffled in her arms, staring down at him in adoration.

Andromeda was silent at that. The name Thomas Riddle was not entirely unheard of in this part of England, despite the fact that his familiar estate was over 100 miles away in Yorkshire. His family had a great deal of influence on politicians and other members of high status. The Riddle family had worked diligently to fill the pockets of their peers and take money from the poor. Andromeda had had the opportunity to interact with the Thomas Riddle , the Earl of Harewood on multiple occasions while growing up, and her heart ached for the woman who had fallen so deeply into his trap. He treated his servants and all women in his life like dirt under his shoe.

"I'll call him Tom, or Tommy. He'll be just as beautiful as his father, but I'll raise him to be a good man.” She pressed a kiss to the babe’s head. “You’ll _never_ be like him, Tommy.”

The Tonks' had woken to the babe wailing in the night, and when it continued without signs of the babe being soothed, Andromeda wandered down the hallway to assist Merope with the child. She had not expected to find the cold, lifeless body of Merope Gaunt staring up at the ceiling, blood pooled between her legs, while her child screamed from the makeshift crib on the bed beside her.

The question, of course, was what to do with the child. But once Andromeda picked him up and started to soothe, she decided she never wanted to let him go.

"I will do my best, Merope," she murmured as she held the child to her chest. "He'll not be like his father.”

TMRTMRTMRTMR

_Andromeda Tonks’ remembered the day that she had been kicked out of her ancestral home as clear as day. for falling in love with Ted Tonks, a young man who worked long, hard hours in a dairy factory just outside of Birmingham. It had been a coincidence for them to meet, of course, her father being a Duke, and she soon being shipped off to finishing school. But she was desperate to see the world before she was locked away behind bars, and so when her family were moving through the city of Birmingham, she had ventured out of the house into the city on her own. Coincidentally, Ted, an awfully good pickpocket, was trying his luck in her area._

_When he tried to pick-pocket her, in return she had smacked him over the head with her umbrella. It should have been a disaster, but somehow romance had blossomed from there._

_The day she had told her father that she was engaged to Edward “Ted” Tonks, was both the worst and best day of her life. Running away had not been a hard choice to make, after she was laughed at, slapped, berated, and ordered to break off the engagement or leave. She had left with nothing but the clothes on her back, and the support of Ted Tonks, her fiancé._

_After numerous failed attempts to conceive, Andromeda had grown depressed. One of her biggest dreams in life was to have a family that was loud, happy, and full of love – all of which were qualities she saw in her husband. The moment she had held baby Tom Riddle in her arms she felt such a sense of love and determination, and she knew that she was meant to be a mother, to save children like Tom._

_Andromeda saw herself in such children, who were orphaned, abandoned, or kicked out of their childhood homes. She felt compelled to care for these children, and give them a loving home, so that they would never feel as she did._

_It started with Tom. Then Remus, abandoned in the woods as a babe – likely thought to be a seelie changeling – a year later. Then Severus, Antonin and Sirius all several years later– Severus, who she found beaten and bloody, likely by his own father, the town drunkard. Her cousin Sirius, who had turned up on her doorstep covered in bruises, begging to come and live with her. Antonin refused to speak of his parents at all._

_Andromeda loved all of her boys, her sons, and vowed to protect them from their past as best as she was able. She knew, though, that if other children like her Tom were in need of a mother, she would provide for them to the best of her ability_.

TMR TMR TMR

_February 1912_

“Tom,” Andy called softly. “Come here, please.”

Tom scowled and scuffed his shoe on the ground, making no move to stand from his perch on the front doorstep. Though they were halfway down the street by now, he could still hear his brother laughing with Severus and Sirius, and it made his stomach sink. He fingered the stick that he had been wheedling, eyeing the sharp point it made with satisfaction.

“Tom, come inside. _Now.”_

Tom huffed and threw the stick he had been whittling on the pavement, trying to covertly pocket the knife he had stolen from his father, which was moderately blunt. He swiftly stood, turning and stomping past his mother in the hallway. He threw himself onto the small sofa in the living room. It was a mess and had been since Sirius had arrived a day earlier.

His life had been perfectly ordered for the last 10 years of his life. He and Remus had been as thick as thieves, they had been quiet, but mischievous, running circles around their father who was only happy to pretend he was none the wiser.

He had withdrawn slightly when Severus had arrived, covered in bruises, and Remus had flocked to the boy’s side to nurse him through his injuries and introduce him to their local neighbourhood.

Antonin had arrived next, though never spoke except to tell Andromeda his name. It didn’t cause too many ripples in Tom’s life, as they older boy, at 15, barely came home and when he did he smelled of fire and often had split knuckles or a black eye.

Sirius, though, had become a ring leader in less than 24 hours, putting his brother and Severus on a leash with his pearly smile, his perfectly symmetrical dimples and his loud mouth that Tom wished he could punch.

“What has gotten into you? You’ve been in a terrible mood these last few days.”

Tom said nothing, picking the dirt out from under his nails.

“Tom, love, I’m worried about you. Please tell me what is bothering you.”

“Remus has forgotten about me, now that he has them.” He said after a moments silence. “He doesn’t need me anymore. He doesn’t even _want_ me anymore now that he has Sirius and Severus.”

“Tom, there’s nothing wrong with your brother making friends. And he did ask if you wanted to go with them, I heard him.”

After nothing but silence, she tried again.

“What are you afraid of, Tom?”

“Sirius is going to replace me. Remus will leave me alone here, just like my mother did!” He said harshly, clenching his jaw.

Andromeda scowled and stooped down, grabbing his chin and forcing him to look her in the eye. “You listen here, Thomas. Your mother did not choose to leave you in this world, she loved you with all that she had, and spoke to me about how she was going to raise you to be a good man.”

She paused for a moment and let out a sigh. “Tommy, I am grateful that God delivered you to me. It is very sad that your mother passed, and many days I feel like a selfish woman for being thankful that I was gifted with you to raise as my own. You may have been born to her, but you are _my_ son. ”

Tom’s eyes glistened and his frown softened, but he continued to clench his jaw tightly and still said nothing.

“Tommy, you, and Remus are very lucky boys. I loved you both the moment I laid eyes on you, and you were raised by parents who love you very much. Severus and Sirius’ parents hurt them and didn’t show them love. Antonin…has his own secrets about his past, but either way, his parents aren’t here to care for him. These boys need someone to take care of them. I want to love them as my own, as their own mothers should have. That doesn’t mean I will love you, or Remus any less.”

“You’re a very good big brother to Remus, Tom. Severus and Sirius could do with a big brother to take care of them, and Antonin needs a brother more than ever at the moment to lead him in the right direction. Maybe you can get him to talk again and make him feel safe here. You can protect them. Can you do that for me, my love?”

Tom was silent for a moment as he considered his options. “I suppose you’re right…but if I do this, can I share a room with Antonin instead of the others? Sirius talks in his sleep. And I think I should have more space, as the second oldest.”

TMRTMRTMRTMR

_April 1912_

“Leave him alone, or I’ll cut you.” Tom warned, knife gleaming as he pointed it threateningly at the much bigger boy in front of you.

The boy laughed, sweeping his long hair out of his eyes, which gleamed dangerously.

“Well, Dolohov, looks like you’ve got yourself a protector! I’m shaking in my boots,” The teenager laughed, then spit on the floor in front of Tom. “If you point that knife at me any longer, it’ll end up in your stomach. Run along now, and I’ll reconsider hurting you.”

Tom refused to leave, his hand trembling slightly. “I meant what I said.”

Antonin clenched his jaw and stood from where he was sprawled on the floor, wiping blood from his eye. He swept Tom behind him with his arm, before pouncing on the other teenager, eyes blazing.

Later, Antonin dragged Tom out of the alley by the wrist and didn’t stop until they were almost home.

“That was very stupid of you. He would have killed you,” Antonin snapped, his voice startling Tom. It was the first time he had heard him speak.

“Well, you were lying on the floor, I thought he was going to kill you.” Tom argued.

“If you are going to threaten people like that, I need to teach you how to fight,” The older boy took the knife from Tom and shook his head. “And steal you a better blade,”

TMRTMRTMR

_July 1912_

“Christ, Tommy! Where did you get it?” Sirius asked excitedly, leaning over Tommy to get a better look at the weapon as it laid on top of the wooden crate.

Tom scowled at the intrusion into his personal space and elbowed the younger boy.

“I nicked it from Mr Russel, the one who lives two streets over. Antonin distracted him, and I grabbed it from his pocket.”

“Sneaky, I like it. How did you distract him?” Sirius asked, glancing up at the older boy as he leaned against the wall of the alley.

Antonin shrugged, shoving his hands deeper into his pocket.

“He has a daughter, and she took a liking to him,” Tom rolled his eyes, picking up the gun and aiming it down the alley, testing the weight in his hands. “It was disgusting, really. I don’t understand girls.”

Severus and Remus snickered, while Sirius reached out for the weapon.

“Give us a go, Tommy! Please?”

“Well, well…what have we here?”

The boys turned to the entrance of the alley, and Tom narrowed his eyes as the dishevelled boy approached them. 

“Shove off, Scabior!” Sirius rolled his eyes at the other boy, trying to discretely shove the weapon into his coat pocket.

“I reckon the owner of that will be missing it. He’d be awful thankful if I pointed him towards the people who nicked it.”

“Didn’t your mother ever teach you to mind your own business?” Tom snapped, stepping towards the other boy. “Oh, wait, my mistake – you haven’t got one of those, have you? I forgot, sorry.” He smirked.

“Like you’re one to talk,” Scabior clenched his fists, his nostrils flaring. “At least my parents didn’t leave me by choice. Where’s your parents? There are all sorts of rumours going around about you lot. Is it true that you were left to die in the woods, Remus?” He raised an eyebrow as he looked the bookish looking boy up and down.

“I can see your intelligence hasn’t improved at all since we last met, Scabior,” Remus said, standing slightly behind his brother with his hands in his pockets. “You may be correct in saying that my parents didn’t want me, however, did you ever wonder why we’ve been adopted, and you haven’t? I’m pretty sure that says something about your character if you don’t mind me saying...”

Antonin, as per usual, said nothing throughout the exchange, but surveyed the situation intently from his stance a few feet away.

“Take that back.” Scabior warned.

“Or what?” Tom scoffed.

“I’m not sure…but I wonder if Mr Russel would like to know the whereabouts of his missing gun?”

“How did you know that?”

“You wouldn’t.” Tom and Remus spoke at the same time, and Tom glared at his younger brother, warning him to not say anything else.

“You’re not a snitch. You’ve never ratted us out before.”

“Well, things change, Tonks.” Scabior smirked, then turned out of the alley and darted out of view.

Tom swore and immediately took after him. The others close on his heels.

“Where did he go?” Tom snapped, rounding the corner to see that the boy had disappeared. Unfortunately for them, Scabior was known for being fast, and brilliant at hiding.

“Let’s split up. I’ll go this way with Tommy, and you lot go to the right.” Remus suggested, grabbing Tommy’s arm and moving to the left side of the street.

Tommy darted ahead, eyes scanning the road ahead of him.

“Anyone see anything?” Remus called after a minute.

Tommy turned his head to look back at his brother, but movement behind the bookish boy caught his attention.

“Remus!” He shouted in warning as Scabior jumped up on a crate behind Remus.

Tommy watched in horror as Scabior lifted a crowbar and swung it towards his brother.

Remus turned towards the noise behind him, letting out a shout just before the crowbar connected with the side of his head.

Dread pooled in Tommy’s stomach as Remus fell to the ground, not moving, and he screamed at Scabior, dashing towards him.

“You fucking bastard!”

Tom launched himself at the boy who stood atop of the crate, and he ignored the sharp pain in his shoulder as they tumbled to the ground together.

“Get off me! Gypsy scum!”

“Don’t touch my brother ever again!” Tom yelled as the rolled together on the ground, each attempting to land a hit.

A sharp jab in the ribs made his gasp for air, and when he fell back, Scabior took advantage, striking a blow to his brow.

Tom’s heart pounded hard in his chest, the image of his brother laying unconscious on the ground flashing in his mind, and he launched himself at the boy again. He rolled atop of the other boy, using his taller build to his advantage.

It was all a blur. His ears were ringing, and he could vaguely hear people shouting from behind him, but in a rage, he pushed that thought away, focusing instead on the satisfying _crunch_ as his fist collided with Scabior’s nose. His knuckles stung, and blood dripped into his left eye, obscuring his vision, but he didn’t care, rearing back to strike blow after blow.

“Tom! Tommy, leave him! You’ve hit him enough, he’s not moving!”

“Tom, stop. We need to leave, before someone calls for the police.” Antonin spoke from above his shoulder, jarring him from his blind rage.

It wasn’t until Antonin spoke that he realised he was screaming. His throat burned, and he gasped for air, swiping at the blood dripping down his forehead.

Tommy felt arms encircle his waist and he sagged against Antonin, panting as he was pulled to his feet. He pushed away from the older boy and stared at the unconscious boy, blood pounding in his ears. He kicked him one last time in the stomach for good measure before turning back to face his brother behind him.

He swallowed thickly as his eyes fell upon Remus’ unmoving form, blood draining from his ears. The other boys shifted around the unconscious boy as Tommy approached and knelt down beside his brother, moving to wipe away some of the blood from below his ear.

“We need to get him home to mum. Antonin, carry him. Severus, go straight home and tell Andy what’s happened” He ordered, wiping his hands on his pants, ignoring the stinging from his split knuckles.

“I’ll run ahead and find the doctor.” Sirius said as Antonin hefted Remus into his arms.

Sirius hurried off without another word, and Severus left a moment later, after glancing at Remus lying slack in Antonin’s arms, his face pale.

Tom refused to leave Remus’ side as day turned into night, despite his mother’s insistence that he get some rest. He sat no less than a metre from Remus as lay on the sofa, his chest rising and falling rhythmically. After a few hours, Tom couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer, and he dozed off on the other sofa.

He awoke suddenly to the sound of moaning, and his eyes snapped to where his brother laid on the couch.

Andromeda was fussing over him, brushing his hair back as she helped him to slowly sit up.

“How are you feeling?”

The boy had a blank look on his face as he stared at Andromeda. 

“Remus?” She tried again. “Can you remember what happened?”

“What?” He asked, his eyes shifting nervously to his brother where he sat on the other sofa.

“I can’t…mum? I can’t hear anything.” He bought his hand up to his left ear, gingerly touching the outer ear, where blood had crusted.

Andromeda sucked her teeth and grabbed his hand, pulling away. “Don’t touch that.”

“What happened? What’s wrong with my ear, mum?” He started to get more and more frantic, his voice rising.

Tommy went pale, his knuckles turning white as he grippled the armrest of the sofa.

“I can’t hear anything! Tommy! Tommy! I can’t hear anything!” He started to cry then, and Andromeda pulled him into her chest, her hands shaking as tears spilled down her cheeks.

Tom slipped out of the room at that point, his own tears threatening to spill over as he heard his mother sob. He furiously scrubbed at his eyes and ran into the street.

He didn’t realise he was at the scene of the crime until he stood atop the blood-stained dirt. He sat there until the sun rose, the image of his brother’s distraught face flashing in his mind.

“Tom?”

He startled at the gentle voice of his adoptive father and glanced to the entrance of the alleyway where is father stood.

“The doctors just left, and Remus is sleeping. Your mother wants you to come home, please.”

“I can’t go home. This is my fault.”

“This is nobody fault except that street boy.”

“Yes, it is! I’m the one who started it, I was the one who rude to him first. Remus followed my lead! And now look what’s happened!”

Tom took his anger out on the alley, angrily kicking and punching at anything within his reach. 

“Tom, stop that!” Ted snapped, grabbing hold of Tom by the shoulders and pulling him away from the crates.

“I should have protected him! He’s mine to protect! I shouldn’t have teased Scabior the way I did, or I should have done something to stop him, or…now my brother is deaf! He’s deaf and it’s all my fault!”

“Tom, you did not force that boy to pick up that pipe,” Ted said firmly, leaning down to look him in the eyes. “He chose to do that. Just because you riled him up does not mean you caused this. No one man can force another man to do something like that. He is not your puppet.”

“Look at him! He’s deaf!”

“The doctor said that his hearing may get better.”

“May?”

“Or it might not.” Ted admitted.

“And what happens if it doesn’t?”

“Then we will all have to learn to live with it, Tommy.”

“But how will he do anything? Everyone will think he’s some kind of…freak!”

“It will be hard for him, and us. But we will learn to manage it. There are ways, but it will take time to teach.”

“Remus needs his big brother to help him adjust. We all need to be patient with him, alright?”

“I’ll look after him,” Tom promised. “I won’t let anyone hurt him again. I won’t let _anyone_ hurt our family. I won’t stop until everyone knows not to touch us.”

Ted was silent as he listened to his son, noting the dangerous gleam in his eyes. For now, he pushed the thought away, and grabbed his arm. “Let’s get back.” 

TMRTMRTMRTMR

“Thank you, for what you did for Remus,” Tom said the next day, sitting down beside Sirius in the room that the three youngest boys shared. The others were also gathered around, sitting in various places within the room. “Running all that way to get the doctor was…just thank you.”

“It was nothing. We’re family, Tommy. That’s what we do for each other. We’re all brothers, really. We’ve got to band together, people like us. Andy’s a saint, taking us all in.”

Tom nodded, appraising the boy silently for a moment. “I’m going to kill that bastard for what he did.”

“I know,” Antonin watched Tommy intently, taking in the tightness in his shoulders and the determination in his eyes.

“But not now. They will know it was you. A lot of people saw what happened today. Best give it a few years.”

“A few years? But he deserves it _now_.”

“I don’t really think scum like that should be walking around freely.” Sirius agreed.

“Well, it will give him a false sense of security.” Antonin shrugged. “At first, he will feel on edge, waiting for you to strike. Eventually, if you take no action, he’ll start to feel safe. That’s when you act.”

“How do you know that?”

“Its what I’m doing to the man who killed my parents.”

The boys fell silent at that. Antonin was very secretive about his past, and before then, nobody had known how he had come to be taken in by the Tonks’.

“Everyone is going to ridicule him, you know.” Severus said. “They’ll treat him different.”

“Well, we’ll have to do something so that nobody bothers him.” Sirius said defiantly, nodding his head. “Brothers look after each other.”

“Why don’t we make it official? Can I have your knife, Tommy?” Severus held out his hand expectantly.

Tommy raised his eyebrows.

“We’ll become blood brothers,” Severus explained. “We mix our blood together and then its official.”

Tom looked at his sceptically but handed over the knife.

“Everyone come here and hold out your hands,” Severus ordered. “Even you, Antonin.”

Tom winced as the blade moved across the palm of his hand but glanced up as Severus dropped the knife in the middle of their circle.

“Right, now all we do is press our hands together.”

“So, brothers then?” Sirius smirked as he stared at the blood smeared across his hand.

“Brothers,” Tommy nodded in agreement. “We protect each other, and the rest of our family. Nobody hurts any of us like this again, and if they do, we make them pay. Got it?”

Sirius and Severus nodded in agreement, and Tom glanced up at Antonin who was typically silent. The older boy smirked at Tom, who grinned back at him.


End file.
